Why did Moses raise up a serpent in the wilderness? In His famous discourse with Nicodemus Jesus referred to this symbol when He said: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” The record reads that everyone who looked to the serpent was healed. But why a serpent? Why not a nicer more noble symbol? What is Jesus trying to tell us?

Paul plainly informs the Ephesians that there is a spirit, who he identifies as the prince of the power of the air, which now is at work in the sons of disobedience. He further tells us that we once were among them following the passions of our flesh, that is, our self-for-self nature. But, by God’s mercy we are now made alive together with Christ.

How did we receive this new life? By what means were we healed? We looked to Christ. The scriptures relate that Jesus was made to be sin for us. His identification with us went so far that He became what we once were. More than that, He didn’t hang on that cross alone – we were there with Him. I believe it is crucial that we understand that on the cross our old self died. The serpent Moses lifted up refers to that old serpent, Satan, the usurper who indwelt us before we looked to Christ. He is now chased out of the temple by One who is stronger and who has now found a resting place within us.

It is tempting to make salvation into a question of knowledge, that somehow all are saved, and that everyone might attain knowledge about their salvation and hence walk in that freedom Jesus purchased. However, that is the trick from the Garden. Satan told Eve and Adam that if they ate from the tree to knowledge of good and evil their eyes would be opened. Eve sensed that the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. But this is not a battle for wisdom. It is a battle for spiritual supremacy. It is either or. It is black or white. And the battleground is us.

Either are we indwelt by Christ and thus his self-for-others seed is sown in us, which germinates and comes to fruition when that illusion about an independent self is shattered. Or we are indwelt by Satan, and his self-for-self seed in us grows up and becomes thistles and thorns, which are manifested as good and evil. What we are talking about is not a question about us and them, because all are embraced by God in Jesus Christ. Human kind as a whole is reconciled to God. But whether we like it or not, every man has to look to Christ in order to get healed from that inner disease, that corrupt self which is a servant of the prince of the power of the earth. The serpent raised by Moses symbolizes that the serpent of old must be evicted before we receive our healing, that is, salvation.

Very good my friend. An awesome reminder of our life in Christ. So many preach grace and our life in Christ, but it’s important to remember that we too, were crucified with Him (dead, buried and raised too) to walk in His righteousness. Very good post my friend.

It’s interesting and has caught my attention for some time now, that in the Garden they choose knowledge over life, why, because they thought they were already alive and they were, but not fully alive!

Your explanation of the serpent in the wilderness does not fully explain the true meaning of what the ‘serpent’ in the garden truly represented. If you think about it, we cannot have the ‘mind of God’ without the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore it can only be the ‘venom’ itself that is the ‘remedy’ for the poison of sin. Geoff

We Live in Romans 8

To put it briefly, Romans 7 is not the chapter in which the believer lives. We live indwelt By Christ in Romans 8. Romans 7 is when we forget that Christ lives in us, and we try to live – to fulfill the law – by our own strength. But independent self is sin, therefore the moment we forget the indwelling Christ, and try to live by independent self, sin is at work in us, and we are under its dominion. Therefore the point to remember is that as that chapter tells us, we are dead to the law; that means we are not independent people trying to fulfill God’s law. We are new people, with the Law-Giver living in us, Christ Himself. We only enter the bondage of Romans 7, when we forget that fact and we must learn to turn quickly by the cleansing blood to our abiding place in Romans 8.
(Norman Grubb)

Norman Grubb

Unforced rhythms of grace

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
(Matt 11:28-30, The Message)